Microsoft recommends users to create solutions for managing their customizations thereby encouraging CRM enhancement processes. A customized solution helps users find solution components customized by themselves without a hassle. In case you have not been using a customized solution, you are working in the default solution within the unmanaged layer. Default solutions are special solutions that contain all components in the system, useful for exploring all the components as well as configurations in your system.

Why Should Users not Use Default Solutions for Managing Customizations?

While customizing Dynamics 365, it is vital to know why default solutions are not a good alternative for managing customizations.

1. Firstly the Default Solution contains all the components and configurations in your system. Making customizations there? Not a good idea.
2. Secondly, it is not convenient simply to find your customizations in the environment with the help of Default Solution.
3. While creating components using Default Solution, the default publisher assigned to it might result in incorrect publisher prefixes being assigned to some components.
4. Lastly, the Default Solution can not be exported. As a result, users will not be able to distribute the Default Solution to another environment.

Discover and Create a Specific Unmanaged Solution:

Are you trying to create a new solution for customizing dynamics 365? Create a new solution in a few simple steps.

• Head over to ‘Settings’ and click on ‘Solutions’
• Select ‘New’ and fill up the required fields (Display Name, Name, Publisher, Version) for the solution
• Click on ‘Save’

After you have clicked on ‘Save’, you may choose to add information to other fields that are not mandatory. Once the solution is created, it will not contain any solution components, yet. Users can create new solution components by clicking on the ‘Add Existing’ button on the list menu for adding any solution components from the Default solution.

While implementing the above mentioned steps, you might come across a ‘Missing Required Components’ dialog box. It is important to note that this is an alert that the solution component in question is dependent on other solution components. If you click on ‘No, do not include required components’, the solution might fail. Generally, it is safer to click on ‘Yes, include required components’, especially if you are planning to export the solution into another organization.

However, if you choose to not add these components while adding an individual solution component, you can always come back later, click on the solution component you had added and select ‘Add Required components’ from the menu. Also, in case you do not plan on exporting the solution or even if you are just planning to export it as an unmanaged solution and importing it back within the same organization, it is not necessary to include the required components. Customizing Dynamics 365 with the help of solutions has become simple over the years.

Lastly, open an unmanaged solution and begin your CRM enhancement processes,

• Head over to ‘Settings’ and click on ‘Customizations’
• Select ‘Solutions’
• Double-click on your preferred unmanaged solution and open it to begin working